The Hot Wheels report was recently released and we looked it over to get you numbers on which trucks get stolen the most, which states your truck is most likely to be stolen from, and some quick and easy tips to prevent your vehicle from being stolen.

Has your truck ever been stolen? Tell us your story in the comments!

 

Transcript:

It's a scene you hope you never have to encounter. You're walking back to your truck, you know this is where you parked, but it's not there. There's only one thing it could be.

Your truck was stolen.

 

Hey guys, Ken here with 4WheelOnline. If you like what we're doing hit that subscribe button! And stick around until the end, we want to hear about your truck theft stories.

 

You never want to experience it, but sometimes life sucks. Losing your truck isn't as horrible as losing a loved one, obviously, but if you love your truck, sometimes it's close.

 

Now, we don't mean the kind of hot wheels you played with as a kid. While those are awesome we're talking about the top 10 vehicles stolen in 2015.

 

3 out of the top ten were trucks. Which state do you think had the most truck thefts?

 

If you guessed Texas you'd be right. A huge 18,400 trucks parted ways with their owners last year in Texas.

 

California is second with nearly half that at 10,500. Third is where thefts per state drop off in a huge way. Florida lands at 3,400 and the numbers only go down from there.

 

I guess this makes sense though. Texas and California are the two most populous states. And they're also states that have a lot of industry like oil and farming.

 

If you've ever driven through rural Texas then you know just how many trucks are there.

 

Plus they like big things there, in Texas. California, I don't know what they like.

 

So, which truck was stolen the most? Let's start at the least stolen and move up.

 

Coming in at 6 out of 10 overall is Dodge full size pickups with 11,212 stolen last year.  The report doesn't say which models specifically, but does show 2001 and 2004 model years as the most stolen.

 

Chevy full size trucks are 4th overall on the list which 2.5 times as many stolen compared to dodge at 27,771. The 2004 model year makes up the largest portion of that number at 15% of the total.

 

And, the number 1 most stolen truck, the number 3 most stolen vehicle in America is Ford full size trucks for a total of 29,396.

 

So if you have a Ford full size truck, you probably want to keep listening.

 

Is this surprising? Trucks are getting more popular every year and the rankings fit in with sales numbers. It's simple math that the truck that is sold the most would also be stolen the most.

 

But how can you prevent your truck from being stolen? Here's a few simple tips:

 

Now, the first one is obvious. Double check that your doors are locked. Unless of course you've got a soft top jeep because it's not cheap to replace a cut soft top.

 

Don't leave a spare key in your car. Just don't do it. No putting your keys under your visor and flipping them down. There's a reason it's in the movies, people actually do it and then their cars get stolen. Idiots.

 

Park in a well lit area, thieves hate being seen.

 

If your truck doesn't have one, install some sort of alarm.

 

But the best method, period, is to use some sort of immobilizing device, this could include smart keys, starter, ignition and fuel pump disablers, fuse cut-offs, or hidden kill switches.

 

Has your truck been stolen? Have you ever stolen a truck? Tell us the story and what the end result was. Did the thief get caught? Are you still in jail? Was your truck ever found? If it was did you get it back in one piece or was it a total loss? Let us know in the comments!

 

Then be sure to thumbs up and share. Unless you stole it of course.

 

Until next time, I'm Ken, with 4WheelOnline and you've just been refreshed.